Sam Walsh – Deck of DT 2025

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Matt – coach of Mottram’s Marvels – was the 2022 AFL Fantasy Classic champion. He joins us today as a special guest for Winners Week where a former No.1 comes on to chat about a player for the Deck of DT.

Why should I pick him?

The narrative for picking Sam Walsh in 2025 was finally seeing him have an injury free preseason. His last three had been riddled with setbacks making it difficult to start him. This year was meant to be different. Carlton poached the Sydney Swans head of high-performance Rob Inness and we were going to get a super fit Sam Walsh. No such luck. Walsh is injured again out for a month with a back related hamstring. Can we still make a case to pick him? I think we can. Firstly, Carlton doesn’t have an early bye round this year, making it more attractive to start Walsh if he is fit for round 1. Secondly, the Blues open the season with a juicy match up against the rebuilding Tigers and Walsh is someone who hits the ground running. Last year, after returning from injury in round 5, Walsh put a 160 on the Crows and then 130 on the Giants. He has a ceiling and has shown that an injury doesn’t prevent him from popping those big scores and the sugar hit we would all love. Lastly, Sam Walsh has a great Fantasy game. He has a high work rate and can get into space and get his hands on the ball. In 2024 he ranked 13th in disposals (28.4) including top 10 in handballs with 15 per game. Plus, he loves a cuddle, ranking equal 6^th for tackles with 6.8 per game. Priced at 106.1 it is conceivable to see him push the 110 mark if he can get back fit for the end of the preseason and get a clear run going into round 1.

Why shouldn’t I pick him?

To put it simply, he is injured again. Another setback means this will now be Walsh’s fourth injury interrupted preaseason in a row. In Fantasy this usually means we cross a line through his name when it comes to picking a player in our starting teams. Missing that time in the summer is also likely to impact Walsh during the 2025 season. Yes he did start well after injuries in previous seasons, but it eventually caught up with him and he didn’t look like he was that same gut running player we all love him for. In the last 8 rounds of 2024 Walsh averaged 99.3 points per game with only one score over 120. If we take that out he averaged 93.6. Since averaging a career best of 109 in 2021, Walsh has averaged 103.3 (2022), 94.6 (2023) and 106.1 last season (2024). Players who have preseasons look different and it makes the most difference to their seasons. Even if Walsh manages to get up for round 1, do we see him going much more than his career best of 109? I think going 109-110 is best case scenario meaning he doesn’t present incredible value anyway. There are other players around his pricepoint we can safely pick without interrupted preseasons. Therefore, why take the risk?

Deck of DT Rating.

QUEEN

Before his injury Sam Walsh was an M1 contender and I think he should still be considered.

At 24 years old he is about to enter his prime for an AFL player meaning his best is likely still ahead of him.  He would have had a good fitness base prior to the injury and latest reports have Walsh back running at training, pushing for a preseason return as of late January. We know a fit Sam Walsh can score among the best of them. I’m still bullish on picking him if he gets through the remainder of preseason unscathed.

Matt Mottram

2022 AFL Fantasy Classic Champion. 🏆